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Hi everyone! I wanted to take a moment to show everyone my 78 Mako 23 that was recently completely redone and what a great experience I had!!!

Short background the project started in early 2011 but was a complete nightmare. Bad tank, and some bad gel coat work....I don't want to get all caught up on the issues with the original shop.... We will just say the original shop and I did not see eye to eye.

Through our online community I meet a gentleman named Luther from Absolute Tank Cleaning. I have never meet someone who cares so much about making his customers happy. Luther came out to my boat and cleaned my tank very well but explained to me this particular tank was very bad and I might still have issues.....He was right so I called him back and he cleaned the tank a second time but......HE DID NOT CHARGE ME!! He was more concerned with the boat then making a few $$. A this point Luther and I had developed a strong friendship and I told him I want to pull the tank and just replace it. I also explained to Luther the other problems with my deck cracking and gel flaking of.....At this point I'm very upset and just want this thing fixed once and for all.

Luther tells me he knows a great fiberglass guy and they will both meet me at the boat to take a look. This is when I met Capt JR Ratz with JR Ratz Custom Yachts out of Largo Fl. James takes sometime looking at the boat and I explain to him all the issues I'm having and how I feel the boat is just falling apart and I no longer have the "WOW Factor" that I wanted. James was extremely friendly and took the time needed to answer all my questions. They leave and tell me they will have an estimate in my inbox by Tuesday (this was Saturday). What do you know....Monday I get an email from James explaining everything we spoke about and the associated cost and I had the boat at this shop the next Saturday.

The entire process was like night and day. James Ratz is a standup guy and is one of the most honest people I have ever meet. Every time I visited James's shop they were ALWAYS working on my boat and you could tell they were making progress. James always took the time needed to walk me through the boat and explain what they are doing and why they are doing it. There were many times where they had to complete things that were not in my estimate in order to do the job right. James stood behind his work and I have had no issues with his work and can say he is the only one who will ever work on my boat again......I will be dropping off the boat soon to have a custom tower installed.

The following was completed.
Remove old tank
Custom build and install new tank
Repair all cracks and gel coat that is flaking off on deck
Build custom bulkhead in bow for added storage
Remove bottom paint and polish old gel.
Paint haul sides.

Please see the before and after pics, Thanks James for all you did for me!!

James and Luther are some of the nicest and hard working guys I've met. It's nice to have found honest people in the marine industry. They continued to go above and beyond exceeding my expectations while taking my boat further then I ever could have dreamed. I highly recommend them!

Looks great! If you don't mind me asking, what did they charge for bottom paint removal/restoration? Looking to do the same to mine and just trying to get an idea on how much $$ to save. Thanks.

Honestly it really depends on what size boat, how many layers of bottom paint and if there are any blisters that need to be fixed. I'd call James and he should be able to give you an idea. He's very honest so he will read you in the right direction.